I know this is going back……..I was wondering what other posters thought…..would Peter Finch have won the Oscar for “Network” had he not died? I know that in the history of the Oscars sympathy votes don’t usually add up (James Dean for example)….I know I preferred Robert DeNiro in “Taxi Driver” at the time but looking back I still think Peter Finch would have won. The rankings likely would have been:

I think he was always considered the favorite to win, even before he died. I read somewhere that the controversy before his death was that they wanted him to campaign as supporting actor so William Holden had a shot at winning. Holden was supposedly pretty mad when Finch insisted on being advertised as lead.

Interesting to think that they possibly could have won all 4 acting awards if Finch had gone supporting.

I always looked at Peter Finch’s performance as more of a supporting one. He disappears for a long portion of the film and outside of his professional life we don’t see what he has going on in his life. Holden on the other hand had the whole Diana-being-his-lover and the Louise breakdown on his side plus his network storyline. He was THE lead in my opinion. And yes had Finch gone supporting and Network would’ve won all 4 acting categories for sure.

My favorite performance by any actor in my favorite film of all time… It was just a shame but the movie still has pop culture impact to this day and it is loved by millions of cinephiles. That’s what matters!! (I’m tryin to be positive here)

I think he deserved an oscar, but agree that he was more supporting than lead. His character definitely had enough presence for a lead performance, but, like Anthony Hopkins, there wasn’t the right amount of screentime.

This should have been DeNiro’s Oscar. Probably should have won again for Deer Hunter too. Incredible decade the early 70s to the mid-80s, from Mean Streets/Godfather II through King of Comedy and Once Upon a Time in America—probably’s never been matched. Daniel Day-Lewis didn’t seem stopped by politics when he gave big performances…why was DeNiro? sigh

LMAO – so De Niro didn’t even deserve a BJ for that perf? (j/k – crass, I know, but I couldn’t help myself…)

On topic, it happens by chance that I watched Network last night for the first time in years. No, Finch did not deserve the win (his accent slides all over the place for one thing). I suspect Finch would have won regardless. though – he was the only one of the five with a previous nomination to his credit who had not yet won (thus, the most “due”). My guess is that, had he not won, it would have gone to Stallone, given that Holden and De Niro already had Oscars and Giannini wasn’t even remotely competetive, plus Stallone was also nominated for writing and, of course, his film won BP (one of the worst wins in AMPAS history, imo, especially given the competition)…

In looking over the statistics, it is interesting that Finch won Globe and BAFTA (both posthumously) but no critics awards at all. DeNiro swept NY, LA and National Society Critics (where Holden tied for 2nd.)

If Finch had lived I still think he’d have won and if he was in Supporting I think Holden would have won. DeNiro and Taxi Driver were just too violent for the academy of the 70s. I think their conservative ways show in supporting actress with Straight winning over the favorites Piper Laurie and Jodie Foster (both from violent dark films.)

I know this is going back……..I was wondering what other posters thought…..would Peter Finch have won the Oscar for “Network” had he not died? I know that in the history of the Oscars sympathy votes don’t usually add up (James Dean for example)….I know I preferred Robert DeNiro in “Taxi Driver” at the time but looking back I still think Peter Finch would have won. The rankings likely would have been:

Peter Finch in Network

Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver

William Holden in Network

Sylvester Stallone in Rocky

Giancarlo Giannini in Seven Beauties

I am interested in your opinions.

This is what is asked/said about Ledger and his Oscar win, almost as if the performance itself was secondary….which it almost always is, but not in getting there in the first place. I generally laugh at the crystal ball idiots who pronounce that he would never have won if he hadnt died. Uh-huh. Can you prove that now brainiac?

We’ll probably never know for sure, but my feeling is yes.

I liked all of the nominated perfs, and was especially happy for the wonderful Giancarlo Giannini. I loved that movie too, definitely Lina Wertmuller’s “best”, since I can now say that again without the predictable ridicule that always went with it. And I watched When Women Had Tails and When Women Lost Their Tails as well.

“Network” is one of my favorite films ever. I’m pleased that Peter Finch won in lead. That doesn’t take anything away from Robert DeNiro in the iconic “Taxi Driver,” but he had already won an Oscar, and would win again later for an equally iconic role, so I don’t feel that bad for him. William Holden had already won too, so the sting of his loss is slight. I do wonder who would have been knocked off had Finch gone supporting. I’d guess that one of the “Rocky” guys would have been cut, either Meredith or Young. Maybe Finch could have been the frontrunner in supporting actor and win if he managed it in lead actor. Voters sure did like Jason Robards though. Without Finch in lead actor, DeNiro might have had the edge over Holden. As much as I would have loved seeing “Network” win all four acting categories, I have a feeling the Academy wouldn’t have gone that far with the love even with Finch in supporting actor. Stallone might have been the go-to boneheaded consensus choice instead. And someone would have had to take Finch’s slot there. Hmmm. Who was number six that year? Dustin Hoffman? David Carradine? Kris Kristofferson? So many possibilities and it/then scenarios. Either way, I’m glad that Finch won his deserved posthumous Oscar.

That year was one of the strongest years ever in terms of the quality of the movies that populated the awards season. From my favorite movies Taxi Driver and Network to the Carrie ladies… Outstanding year for cinema.